DIY: Photo pop-up cards

You’re never too old to appreciate pop-up cards right?  A fun, personalized photo pop-up card is even better.

I saw this tutorial from PhotoJojo and just had to try it.  This could be a fun and simple holiday present or quirky decor for your home as well.  This is also a great excuse to play around with photos and design a great unexpected photo combination.

Materials
– (2) 8″ x 10″ photos (main photo to be cut out should be fairly tall) 
– glue stick
– scissors (I found my sharp fabric scissors worked well)

Directions
1.  Use a photo printer or order (2) 8″ x 10″ images (lots of low cost photo printing options including Artscow which gives you 1200 free photo credits in the first year).  One photo should be a subject in its entirety (whole vertical length) and the other should be a more plain piece of scenery to use as the background.
If you want your subject to be tall, you may want to resize it to be 9″ tall for dramatic effect.

2. Lay your background photo image-side up.  Fold it 2″ in from the bottom. The bottom of the image will fold inwards towards the top with your image on the inside.
Unfold the photo. It will now have a 90 degree angle and will be able to stand upright.
Note: If your photo paper is light, you may need to glue heavier cardstock on the bottom for additional support.
The horizontal plane will be the floor for your subject to stand on, and the vertical plane will be the background image of your diorama.

3. Cut out the subject photo trimming closely along the subject shape until is completely separated from the rest of the photo.

4. Cut a strip of photo paper about 1/2″ wide and 8″ long. This will be what props up your subject. Fold the strip into three sections. The first section should be 3″ long, the second section 2″ long, and the third section 3″ long. When unfolded, the strip will be U-shaped with two 90 degree angles.

 6. Make any other glueing and folding adjustments and you’re done!  Remember that if your photo paper is light or bent, it may not stand readily on its own and will need to be supported in the back.


Here is my photo pop-up card (residing on the bookcase and propped up by a small wedding album!)
It is a combination of a photo from our wedding day in NY and the view from the Seine river from the spot that he proposed.  Err, I know that it may be kinda funny that we’re standing in the river but it is a quirky, sentimental combination for us.

Have fun if you do this project!  What pop-up card would you create?

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